Although Mr. Obama reserves the right to order a punitive military strike on his own without United Nations backing if Syria reneges, the officials said he understood that Russia, because of its veto power in the Security Council, would never allow a resolution that authorized such a use of force.

***

Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger muscled the Soviet Union out of Middle East diplomacy back in 1973. In the 40 years since, American presidents have worked to keep the Russians out. Now they’re back in. A nation with a declining population, a weakened military, and an economy propped up only by oil and gas exports has suddenly made itself the key interlocutor in the region. Obama has allowed this even though it’s obvious that effective disarmament is impossible in a nation riven by civil war and ruled by a regime with every incentive and inclination to lie and conceal. The negotiations and any fig-leaf inspection process can be dragged out for weeks, months, and years, as Saddam Hussein demonstrated.

Now we see the ghastly spectacle of Sergei Lavrov carving John Kerry down to size slice by slice, as the Americans grasp at the hopeless task of removing chemical weapons from Syria as proposed by Moscow. A new UN resolution? In our new spirit of partnership, why not? But only if it does not insult Mr Assad, or contain nasty threats or war crimes allegations against him. New peace talks? Of course. As long as they are not aimed at Mr Assad leaving office.

It’s obvious to even the dullest pundit that no new international process can bring about the safe collection and destruction of Syria’s sizeable CW stocks over any timescale that matters. Moscow is not interested in this. Rather it means to re-legitimise the Assad regime by making it a prime interlocutor in the whole phoney process…

In short, we have gone from “Assad must go!” to “Assad has to negotiate with us on a UN resolution for handing over his CW stocks, or there definitely ought to be consequences!” It’s a short sad step from that to “Assad must stay!”

He willingly jumped into a bear trap of his own creation. In the process, he has damaged his presidency and weakened the nation’s standing in the world. It has been one of the more stunning and inexplicable displays of presidential incompetence that I’ve ever witnessed. The failure cuts straight to the heart of a perpetual criticism of the Obama White House: that the President thinks he can do foreign policy all by his lonesome. This has been the most closely held American foreign-policy-making process since Nixon and Kissinger, only there’s no Kissinger. There is no éminence grise—think of someone like Brent Scowcroft—who can say to Obama with real power and credibility, Mr. President, you’re doing the wrong thing here. Let’s consider the consequences if you call the use of chemical weapons a “red line.” Or, Mr. President, how can you talk about this being “the world’s red line” if the world isn’t willing to take action?…

There are those who say Obama has destroyed his presidency. It may be true, but I doubt it. All sorts of things could happen to turn the tide back in his favor. The snap polls after the Syria speech indicate that he still has the ability to sell an argument, however briefly. He has been lucky in his opponents: the Republicans will doubtless continue to take positions that most Americans find foolish or extreme. Obamacare may prove a success. He may make crisp decisions in the next overseas crisis; one would hope he’s learned something from this one. But he has done himself, and the nation, great and unnecessary harm. The road back to credibility and respect will be extremely difficult.

***

What I cannot stomach is the humiliation of my country on the world stage… If Obama believed he already possessed constitutional power to strike Syria, he should have struck immediately, and have been ready to justify his actions. If he believed that the authority of Congress was required, he should have been willing to accept the verdict of Congress, which is clearly no.

But to adopt with such alacrity an improvised and cynical proposal by the Russians and Assad, and to spin that proposal as a victory, and as somehow his own, and to look paralyzed as the Russian autocrat uses the New York Times as a platform to spread conspiracy theories and lecture us on America, democracy, and international responsibility, is an embarrassment and an affront.

In the space of 24 hours President Obama went from being the enforcer of international norms to the enabler of Putin and the Assad regime. He has once again ducked responsibility for his words and actions, and in so doing has made the brutish leader of a defeated and broken empire the dominant player in Mideast affairs. And he has sent a signal: not to our enemies, who will continue to pursue their strategic objectives until they are met with force or deterred by overwhelming power, but to our allies, who must now realize that American foreign policy under Barack Obama is simply not serious.

***

The other Marx had something useful to say about Obama’s vaudeville routine on the world-historical stage: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historical facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” As he played his part in making the case for military action, John Kerry referred to this as our century’s Munich moment. He spoke more truly than he meant, for his boss followed the precedent of Munich rather than learning his lesson. But Obama’s Munich moment turned out to be a Marxian version, with Obama doing farcical pratfalls as he followed down Neville Chamberlain’s tragic path…

Perhaps others will step up to avert the damage. Abroad, it seems that it will be up to Benjamin Netanyahu, who knows something about real historical tragedy, to stop even more dangerous regimes than Assad’s from acquiring even more dangerous weapons. At home, members of Congress and other leaders might be able to mitigate the damage that Obama could do over the next three years. In the spirit of Churchill’s great October 5, 1938, speech in response to the Munich agreement, those here at home who are unwilling to consign Americans to either tragedy or farce could insist that people “should know the truth. They should know that there has been gross neglect and deficiency in our defences; they should know that we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road.”

***

Olympus has fallen. America’s leadership is functionally impaired in the face of a thrusting, fast-moving, and possibly brilliant opponent. Of course, the fact that Putin was up against a broken reed made it easier for him. Yet however one may admire Putin’s skills, it must be an admiration tempered by fear, of the kind felt by the British 8th Army in the face of Rommel, of the sort with which Gamelin regarded Guderian. Nothing can disguise the fact that Putin is the enemy and America is less-than-competently led in its contest against him. Something must be done to stem the tide. But what?…

Putin has taken Barack Obama’s Narrative apart and handed him the smoking pieces in a bucket. Barry doesn’t even know how it happened, nor are his advisers any the wiser. Maybe it was a video. And anyway, “what difference does it make?” Obama may emerge from time to time, blinking in the unaccustomed light, seeking to respond in the only ways he knows how: with a speech; as a guest on Leno; firing a few desultory cruise missiles here or there at targets chosen not to matter; or to offer increasingly unaffordable amounts of money for “deals” that won’t last. And none of it will work.

In the Obama era, to modify Teddy Roosevelt, America chatters unceasingly and carries an unbelievably small stick. In this, the wily Putin saw an opening, and offered a “plan” so absurd that even Obama’s court eunuchs in the media had difficulty swallowing it. A month ago, Assad was a reviled war criminal and Putin his arms dealer. Now, Putin is the honest broker and Obama’s partner for peace, and the war criminal is at the negotiating table with his chances of survival better than they’ve looked in a year. On the same day the U.S. announced it would supply the Syrian rebels with light arms and advanced medical kits, Russia announced it would give Assad’s buddies in Iran the S-300 ground-to-air weapons system and another nuclear reactor…

As for Putin’s American-exceptionalism crack, he was attacking less the concept than Obama’s opportunist invocation of it as justification for military action in Syria. Nevertheless, Democrats and Republicans alike took the bait. Eager to mend bridges with the base after his amnesty bill, Mario Rubio insisted at National Review Online that America was still, like, totally exceptional.

Sorry, this doesn’t pass muster even as leaden, staffer-written codswallop. It’s not the time — not when you’re a global joke, not when every American ally is cringing with embarrassment at the amateurishness of the last month. Nobody, friend or foe, wants to hear about American exceptionalism when the issue is American ineffectualism. On CBS, Bashar Assad called the U.S. government “a social-media administration.” He’s got a better writer than Obama, too. America is in danger of being the first great power to be laughed off the world stage. When the president’s an irrelevant narcissist and his secretary of state’s a vainglorious buffoon, Marco Rubio shouldn’t be telling the world don’t worry, the other party’s a joke, too.

Blowback

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…went to a dealership closer to me home about a month ago…that I worked for 6 years ago…after traveling 100 miles a day…thought I would do 5 or 6 years closer to home. They don’t think I know…but I know. ..I handled inventory and trades for a dealership for Fords and sold some…got tired of the drive…I should have kept the drive…60 and still sassy …I thought.

…shocked…1 month…at a place that has high turnover…so I thought I’d show the new people how to stay!…they only have a few people that have been there more than a few years…most dealerships have people that are in one place for decades. I’m a sociology major that started selling cars at 45.

If we had a real president he’d be in good relations with the Russians. Reagan would be. He was desperate to befriend them…but they kept dying on him.

Schadenfreude on September 14, 2013 at 12:39 AM

Yes, we and Russia have a common enemy, radical Islam, but Putin understands how to buy them off and use them against what he considers to be the real enemy, from the Cold War days, the good old USA. And, to his good fortune (actually a lot of Russian money went into the election of Obama in 2008 and far much more into his re-election campaign), Putin finally has a gimp in his basement, Obama, whom he can play and manipulate, at whim.

Remember, Obama told Med to tell Vlad that he, Obama, could be a lot more flexible after the 2012 election. That wasn’t so much a statement of fact as it was a solicitation for a big campaign contributions.

Obama (and Kerry) weren’t just played, they (and we) were f==ked in the butt, without lube.

If we had a real president he’d be in good relations with the Russians. Reagan would be. He was desperate to befriend them…but they kept dying on him.

Schadenfreude on September 14, 2013 at 12:39 AM

barry doesn’t know how diplomacy works. It is very clear that all barry was good at was operating (mostly behind the scenes) to promote 1. himself and 2. his clients who wanted more from the city of Chicago.

Shakedown is basically the game organizers play. Get a mob, stage a sit-in, demand something, and continue to pester and threaten the Haves until you get your money

it is a great model to shakedown corporations and political systems. Barry has elevated this to a movement. An elaborate con in many ways…with the mark being…well, the poor suckers that think he’s a good prezy…and that’s a lot of people

But a shakedown doesn’t much work with Putin or anyone else in the world. And organizing people to get money of someone’s money is a lot different than organizing for something called R2P.

Responsibility to protect is a weak hand…so is a CW treaty. barry didn’t know that. the RINOs tried to rescue him…but they had a weak hand too

But…we will go into Syria at some point. Between the Arab states and Israel there is a lot of pressure to bring. And when the dust settles..maybe six months, maybe after 2014 we’ll go in

Sorry to hear about your situation, KOOL.I mostly ran my own office but I have been let go and it’s never been fun. I quit the last one and that wasn’t fun either, but it was time to move on and it was better than blowing up and telling off the manager, a guy I’ve known for many years.

It’s possible that it won’t take you long, too, and possible that what you find will be significantly better. :) Keeping that in mind might not help with the stress, but it might help keep the worry from weighing down. Unnecessarily, too — because it’s true.

I just got back to this thread, I’m sorry to have left so abruptly last evening, Nova, but I had an idea for that device I’d mentioned.

I wanted to respond to your point about Chandler and “The Big Sleep”.

Crime fiction, mysteries, are written necessarily as plot driven fiction. However, it is the character driven style of Chandler that makes “The Big Sleep” the success it is, both as a novel and in the film adaptation. The heavy attention to atmosphere and character development make the novel a good candidate for a the visual medium of film. When the producers and director called Chandler to ask him ‘Who killed the chauffeur?’ during production of “The Big Sleep” and he answered “I have no idea.” it was because he’d forgotten to work that out for the novel. The reason being that he’d actually laced together several short stories that he’d written and published in a pulp fiction detective magazine “The Black Mask” over the course of the previous several years. These stories were written to formula to appeal to a particular reader, mostly men of that era, to appeal in that particular genre, and in particular, that specific magazine, and so were rich in atmosphere and character development. Chandler had lost his job as an oil company executive during the Depression, needed to make some money, and began submitting stories to a popular and inexpensive magazine that he’d been reading himself. It is this lacing together of several other plots and characters that gives “The Big Sleep” the complexity of plot, with all of its backtracking,plot twists, double crosses, and betrayals, that make it a success. However, this is also the reason for a few loose ends in plotting that Chandler overlooked before publication, including… who killed the chauffeur.

My point is, it wasn’t so much in Chandler’s writing style intentionally to approach the novel in a way that left out a major plot element. It was in the lacing together of other stories that the plot element was simply overlooked.

I wanted to get this down so that I don’t forget during the day. I’ll repost this tonight on the QOTD if I get time. :)

thatsafactjack on September 13, 2013 at 2:42 PM

Nova,

I’ve posted this here in hopes you will spot it. Your post regarding Chandler’s writing style in “The Big Sleep” was an interesting one and deserves an answer. I didn’t mean to rush off… but I suddenly realized the answer for the problem I’d been pondering. :)

Actually I did, Nova. :) I’m sorry I disappeared on you last evening, but I suddenly came up with an idea that worked for the problem I was working.

I came back today and left a post and I reposted it on this thread up there a ways^^^ ( around 11:15 – 11;30 I think) because I thought you were making a good case and the comment deserved a considered answer. :)

Jackie, I’m not sure what you mean about leaving abruptly. You actually left, came back, and were hanging around into the wee hours, if I recall. I counted the dead soldiers this am (5) and each one accompanied by a bourbon sideboy means that by then I was lucky to be semi-coherent. I was surprised you were hanging around as long as you did, but now that I think of it you do always say goodnight. Anyway, no problem.

I’m familiar with the backstory on The Big Sleep I was just trying to suggest you might not have to tie up all the loose ends. In my line of work I came at these things from the outside, like the detectives do. You often had plenty of irrelevant details to sort through, and sometimes details that didn’t seem to fit weren’t resolved because you had enough to be sure enough of the relevant points.

Sometimes you go to trial without a clear picture of what happened, and you’re trying to figure it out while you’re trying to make a case for your client. Those just wore me out.

The essence of the problem isn’t the tactical details of rhetoric. The problem is Obama just isn’t that smart. His college records are kept secret – when Bush’s, Gore’s, Kerry’s were all made available – for a reason. Obama never submitted a single scholarly article as President of Harvard Law Review or when “constitutional law lecturer” for 14 years. You cannot find another with such a record. There is a reason.

Obama cannot stand to be around anyone smarter than he is, so he surrounds himself with idiot sycophants.

I have some hope that Obama’s next three years will be so dismal he will do significant, long-term damage to the Democrats and to Liberalism. We will pay a price for this lesson, but if we can keep him from getting our military people killed on one of his fool’s errands, the lesson may be worth it.

I have some hope that Obama’s next three years will be so dismal he will do significant, long-term damage to the Democrats and to Liberalism. We will pay a price for this lesson, but if we can keep him from getting our military people killed on one of his fool’s errands, the lesson may be worth it.

How’s that for a “sliver lining”?

novaculus on September 14, 2013 at 1:57 AM

Happened before. Looking at some of the things that happened with, say, a Wilson, we’ve endured some pretty rank fascism as a country. The result was rubber-bandy.

But then, the structural changes are permanent. Roberts? From now on, they can tell me to do something and penalize me if I don’t. And the court will say the penalty is a tax, even if the legislators don’t.

Some of this movement is rubber-bandy, and some of it is like a ratchet. :) But I’d take as much spring-back as I could get, and we don’t even have a long term trend to look to, so there’s still hope that occasionally, say every two, three, or four hundred years, the US even un-ratchets some of the more permanent crap.

Obama cannot stand to be around anyone smarter than he is, so he surrounds himself with idiot sycophants.

Adjoran on September 14, 2013 at 1:51 AM

Interesting thought.

Axe on September 14, 2013 at 1:55 AM

A little more complicated? He has been allied with some very smart and capable people. Axelrod is a craven scumbag but it’s a mistake to underestimate him. Or Robert Gibbs.

I think Obama is shrewd enough to ally himself with capable people when he perceives the need. I’m sure Axelrod & Gibbs knew exactly how limited his intellect is but also understood how to feed his ego. They needed him like a ventriloquist needs a dummy. The need for Obama was for political operatives and he has had the best. He needed them through is first term to set up the second election. But since then he has discarded a lot of the political talent, and they were the only brains in the operation. The moronic leftist ideologues, faculty lounge liberals & policy tools he has surrounded himself with fit Adjoran’s description perfectly.

I’ll never forget the day Rush actually had to go there.
He’d resisted, but from then on ….

pambi on September 13, 2013 at 9:47 PM

Unfortunately, if you decide that everything the regime is doing is pre-planned and all decisions are political it makes many of the other happenings of the day rather mundane. Not a good prognosis for those who need to stretch it out three hours a day.

……….there seems to be a terrible disconnect. Barry is a demagogue. He specializes in trash talking his enemies…trash talker in Chief. He is the Boss…the unions go to him for special privileges. His press operatives keep up the drum beat that everything is fine domestically…obamacare works, unemployment is dropping, the banks are fixed, people are happy.

and the Rs are evildoers blocking the poor latinos, bitching about the black boss and his sweeping vision

but back to the vid…people should watch it. It is very scarey. It was at the time for a lot of us…but the press said he was a great orator…lots of people are living in a world of fiction

r keller on September 13, 2013 at 10:12 PM

Great stuff here.
It pays to remember everything they do is political. The overall goals of this regime is to remain the enemy from within where the destruction of the country is everything.It’s just what they do.

“He believes Russia was humiliated in the 90s at the end of the Cold War, humiliated by America. This is Russia standing up to America,” said Ioffe. “He’s also obsessed with not having a unipolar world. Not having America call all the shots across the globe.” …
I’ve said this. Other people writing here have said this. And it only took a bumbling idiot like obama to facilitate this free PR resuscitation for the Russians. Throughout this entire Syrian Civil War, Putin has looked like the leader who knew what was actually going on there and had the calmer head.